This is a much delayed review of an excellent restaurant from someone who isn't a reviewer. My friend Kathryn from San Francisco, many of you may remember me talking about, came out to visit me here in Podunkville. She came here for business in Kansas City then came on out to see me. Actually, she really wanted to go to the Drugstore she's heard so much of from me and publications I brought her.
We started with a couple of delicious cocktails that the Drugstore is known for. This time Jay Beavers was our fabulous barkeep. I had a Silver Elder made with Tanqueray gin, house infused vanilla vodka, elderflower, fresh squeezed lemon and lime juice, and egg white. Kathryn had a Hothouse Flower made with chamomile infused bourbon, muddled lemon, smoked honey, soda water, and house hop bitters. As I've said before the bitters and infusions are homemade.
After the orders were given we were offered an amuse bouche. These small appetite teasers are different every night and offered to every customer. Tonight it was a tiny striper bass risotto cake. I could have eaten five. Jonathan also gave us two house made infused vermouths made with an amontillado sherry, brandy, rosemary and 40 other ingredients! It was delicious and paired well with the amuse bouche.
We shared the pig heart saute. I get this almost every time I come. It's made with shitake mushrooms, baby bok choy and a peppery pan sauce. This dish is a great example of the umami taste. On this night it was a little heavier on the pepper side. You have to like pepper, as I do, or tell them to go light on it. We each chose the recommended spicy Feraud Brunel Rasteau.
For a salad you can't go wrong with the curly endive. Lardo/lardon is there anything better? What makes this better is the smoked trout roe and truffle oil along with the breaded soft boiled egg. Try breading a soft boiled egg and then frying it and you'll know how hard it is do this. Our wine pairing with the salad was a Tavel rose. You couldn't go wrong with that pairing either.
Kathryn was going to order the fried rabbit with mashed potatoes an ode to Route 66, which in the day travelers would see advertised all through southern Missouri. It was tempting but Jonathan told Kathryn she would probably not get the Majinola American Kobe beef in California unless she went to Chez Panisse. Alice Waters has to have the same beef shipped to her but Jonathan has only a few miles to get it.
Anyone who says grass fed beef doesn't have the fat feel that corn fed has is an idiot and I don't even know why I brought it up. This meat melts in your mouth. We were supposed to be sharing but I didn't blame Kathryn for wanting it all for herself. She did let me have a couple of bites and of course since I live here I can have it easily again. The beef as it was would have been perfect by itself but Jonathan served it with caramelized shallots, Maytag blue cheese and smoked honey (they do it in their smoker). It was served on top of a sweet potato/parsnip, Brussels sprouts/caramelized onion saute with a fig/clover flower gastrique. Is your mouth watering? The Summers cabernet sauvignon was the perfect pairing.
I never can resist the local freshwater Striper Bass which this time was served with smoked tomato, Berkshire bacon, lemon confit cream and (Yea!) was on top of that yummy bass risotto cake. My wine pairing was the luscious Vina Mein Ribeiro.
With all this food you usually can't think about bread but you'd be missing out if you didn't eat Camile's (Jonathan's wife and needed partner) absolutely delicious bread. It comes with the local Shatto Farms fresh butter.
Would you believe we still had dessert? A deconstructed basil champagne sorbet with little cocoa tuiles and sour cherry glee . We scraped the plate. Now Kathryn wants to come back and bring her husband, Nick. I hope she does.
www.drugstorerestaurant.com
Monday, March 15, 2010
Not My Story
Since nothing is going on in my life I've decided to give you this story my boyfriend, Jeff, sent me. He just finished the Iron Man Triathlon in Haikou, China. I only did a little editing.
I survived the race. I got up at 4:00 am where the hotel gave everyone who was participating in the race a free breakfast. Two nights prior, at the exclusive hotel, they held a banquet for the Ironman participants. Unfortunately, many of them got food poisoning. One guy stood up at the table in the early hours and collapsed. I had met a couple from Singapore. Chong is a teacher and his wife is an airline hostess. Chong felt sick and was up all night. He went to the starting place and practiced one lap and couldn't go any further. Fortunately, instead of dining at the Ironman banquet I had dinner with the operator who did a lot of translating for me. We ate traditional Chinese food, including duck neck. It was a very good dinner and my stomach did well with it.
As for the race, the swim course was going well and I predicted my pace would get me out of the water after 1 hour, 45 minutes. It's a four lap course and after each lap we had to run on the beach and then back out into the water. On my final leg of the 3rd lap I missed the beach by 30 yards from the get out point, so I had to keep swimming up. I wondered why it was taking me longer. Something should have drawn suspicion. On the fourth lap I began to swim up river to the first buoy and after some time, I raised my head to get my sightings and realized I hardly moved to it at all. I had to keep swimming. The progress seemed to be a fight and I realized that the tide in the river had changed. I had to struggle for every inch. It had been taking me 25 minutes to do each lap but it now took 25 minutes to reach the first buoy. Fear set in as I realized that I might not make it to the end by the 2 hours 20 minute cut off time. I made it in 2 hours and nine minutes. The only comical part was the announcer who seemed to be well aware of the Bay Area. Every time I reached the beach he would announce where I was from and gave the crowd more information about how close I was to Napa Valley and San Francisco. This made me laugh.
With the swim section done it was off onto the bike. During the start of the swim we waited in line in intervals of five and I was standing next to an Aussie who had done over 30 Iron Men. He gave me much needed advice as we stepped closer to the water's edge. He told me, being my first Ironman, not to overdo it on the bike. The goal for the first one was to only finish because of the vast amount of unknowns that will occur later in the race. His advice was if you think you should move up to a larger chain ring, don't do it. You should save your legs especially since I didn't have a tri-bike.
The bike section was good but then the heat started climbing up with severe cross and head winds that made it a struggle. The best part of the race was riding through the ancient villages, where children were shouting words of encouragement. I was saying thank you and hello in Chinese every time I could, which brings me to another observation.
The other riders just seemed to ride through the two villages with their heads down and not pay any notice to the local support. With the exception of a few, most of the Ironmen people I met were not exactly friendly. In fact, most were complete assholes. When I would run into them in the hotel they would just look you up and down to check out your fitness and whether you were really a competitor. I don't think I, my bike, or my helmet really measured up. If asked what other Ironmen events I had completed, there was always hesitation on their part and then some comment like, "Do you know what you're really getting into in this race?" Like I said, assholes. Chong, who had done a few, explained to me that this is was an important event in the Ironman world. Only 500 were doing this one and it would increase their chances to gain entrance to the famed Kona event if they could beat the competitors of their age group.
I took the Aussie's advice and didn't over do it on the bike, so I'd have some strength left in my legs for the marathon section. Maybe my lack of understanding this helped me, but little did I know what lay ahead after the cumulative hours of pushing myself. I felt good, even with the heat and humidity rising in the late afternoon. I assumed it would cool down, which it did. I did not realize the humidity would just keep climbing, but still the first eight miles went well and there was nothing to indicate the pain that would follow.
And did it follow! Now the pavement was hot and my feet absorbed the heat. I felt I was running across coals. I was soaked head to toe from my own sweat but at every aide station I was taking in more Gatorade and Gu gel. It wasn't long before my stomach felt like it couldn't take more of these super sweet energy supplements, but I needed the calories. My feet now were all blistered from the young, enthusiastic volunteers at the aide stations pouring cold water over me in their attempts to cool me down. Then the cramping of legs started, plus the cramping in my stomach which was telling me to eat real food.
My strategy was to walk to the aide station then run to save my legs. Every 15 minutes I had to stop and massage the cramps in my legs. My muscles felt like they were on fire. I could feel the pain all the way down to my core. I thought I could walk part of it, but looking at my watch I knew I would have to keep on running or else not make it by the 12 o'clock cut off time. The avenue was cleared of traffic and police stood at every corner. A pretty stoic group of people. The hardest part of the course was getting just to the outside of the finish line where the party was going on and hear everyone cheering for the finishers. There I was instructed to turn around and go back. Talk about the ultimate in rejection. An Aussie, next to me, said so too, "Oh Mate, this breaks my heart." We continued back to where we started. The night just got longer and longer and the pain was so intense at this point I just want to scream. I arrived at one aide station where I had a hard time standing, unless I was leaning against the table. A Chinese doctor pulled out warm saline fluid for me to drink.
As I turned at the loop with eight miles to go I had to keep telling myself to keep going. When I got closer to the finish, the last mile weaved through the older section of town. Thousands were out watching and it seemed like China town on steroids. A young college student named King who studied English and was a race official on a motor scooter took it upon himself to get me through the last five miles. He rode slowly next to me handing me Gatorade to drink and pouring water over my head. I felt like I was in a frying pan. I guess because of all the buildings, the humidity gets trapped so it also felt like the Amazon rain forest. King stayed with me and kept up his words of encouragement, "We can do this Jeff, keep going." I know I had to be polite but I was thinking, well, of course, you're on the stupid motor scooter and I can't even feel my feet or legs anymore. Even the stoic police were now verbalizing comments. I think all the observers on the streets, liked watching the winners going through but they also liked watching the ones that might not make it, sort of like a crash in Nascar auto racing. They were waiting for someone to crash and burn. Of course, the children buoyed my spirits running along with me. Well actually, walking fast at this point next to me. I can't even count how many times I was saying thank you, thank you.
The ending felt surreal, King told me between the two buildings was the bridge and the finish line. At 11:35 pm and 25 minutes before the cut off time, I arrived. They held up the ribbon for me at the finish line to go through. I don't have the words to describe how I felt. To go so deep within myself to keep fighting became a new place where I have never gone before. They grabbed my arms and then escorted me to the medical tent where a doctor examined me. He laid me down on a cot and stuck an IV needle in me. After about 30 minutes I could start moving again and it was finally over. Chong had told me at breakfast, "Enjoy the race and enjoy the pain." Now I know what he was talking about.
Looking at the results today, I assumed I was almost dead last, but I was at the top 60 percent of my age group. This made no sense to me. Looking closer, the ones after me did not finish, including 40 percent of the pros. So even though I felt like a turtle, I did make it. That put a grin on my face today.
I survived the race. I got up at 4:00 am where the hotel gave everyone who was participating in the race a free breakfast. Two nights prior, at the exclusive hotel, they held a banquet for the Ironman participants. Unfortunately, many of them got food poisoning. One guy stood up at the table in the early hours and collapsed. I had met a couple from Singapore. Chong is a teacher and his wife is an airline hostess. Chong felt sick and was up all night. He went to the starting place and practiced one lap and couldn't go any further. Fortunately, instead of dining at the Ironman banquet I had dinner with the operator who did a lot of translating for me. We ate traditional Chinese food, including duck neck. It was a very good dinner and my stomach did well with it.
As for the race, the swim course was going well and I predicted my pace would get me out of the water after 1 hour, 45 minutes. It's a four lap course and after each lap we had to run on the beach and then back out into the water. On my final leg of the 3rd lap I missed the beach by 30 yards from the get out point, so I had to keep swimming up. I wondered why it was taking me longer. Something should have drawn suspicion. On the fourth lap I began to swim up river to the first buoy and after some time, I raised my head to get my sightings and realized I hardly moved to it at all. I had to keep swimming. The progress seemed to be a fight and I realized that the tide in the river had changed. I had to struggle for every inch. It had been taking me 25 minutes to do each lap but it now took 25 minutes to reach the first buoy. Fear set in as I realized that I might not make it to the end by the 2 hours 20 minute cut off time. I made it in 2 hours and nine minutes. The only comical part was the announcer who seemed to be well aware of the Bay Area. Every time I reached the beach he would announce where I was from and gave the crowd more information about how close I was to Napa Valley and San Francisco. This made me laugh.
With the swim section done it was off onto the bike. During the start of the swim we waited in line in intervals of five and I was standing next to an Aussie who had done over 30 Iron Men. He gave me much needed advice as we stepped closer to the water's edge. He told me, being my first Ironman, not to overdo it on the bike. The goal for the first one was to only finish because of the vast amount of unknowns that will occur later in the race. His advice was if you think you should move up to a larger chain ring, don't do it. You should save your legs especially since I didn't have a tri-bike.
The bike section was good but then the heat started climbing up with severe cross and head winds that made it a struggle. The best part of the race was riding through the ancient villages, where children were shouting words of encouragement. I was saying thank you and hello in Chinese every time I could, which brings me to another observation.
The other riders just seemed to ride through the two villages with their heads down and not pay any notice to the local support. With the exception of a few, most of the Ironmen people I met were not exactly friendly. In fact, most were complete assholes. When I would run into them in the hotel they would just look you up and down to check out your fitness and whether you were really a competitor. I don't think I, my bike, or my helmet really measured up. If asked what other Ironmen events I had completed, there was always hesitation on their part and then some comment like, "Do you know what you're really getting into in this race?" Like I said, assholes. Chong, who had done a few, explained to me that this is was an important event in the Ironman world. Only 500 were doing this one and it would increase their chances to gain entrance to the famed Kona event if they could beat the competitors of their age group.
I took the Aussie's advice and didn't over do it on the bike, so I'd have some strength left in my legs for the marathon section. Maybe my lack of understanding this helped me, but little did I know what lay ahead after the cumulative hours of pushing myself. I felt good, even with the heat and humidity rising in the late afternoon. I assumed it would cool down, which it did. I did not realize the humidity would just keep climbing, but still the first eight miles went well and there was nothing to indicate the pain that would follow.
And did it follow! Now the pavement was hot and my feet absorbed the heat. I felt I was running across coals. I was soaked head to toe from my own sweat but at every aide station I was taking in more Gatorade and Gu gel. It wasn't long before my stomach felt like it couldn't take more of these super sweet energy supplements, but I needed the calories. My feet now were all blistered from the young, enthusiastic volunteers at the aide stations pouring cold water over me in their attempts to cool me down. Then the cramping of legs started, plus the cramping in my stomach which was telling me to eat real food.
My strategy was to walk to the aide station then run to save my legs. Every 15 minutes I had to stop and massage the cramps in my legs. My muscles felt like they were on fire. I could feel the pain all the way down to my core. I thought I could walk part of it, but looking at my watch I knew I would have to keep on running or else not make it by the 12 o'clock cut off time. The avenue was cleared of traffic and police stood at every corner. A pretty stoic group of people. The hardest part of the course was getting just to the outside of the finish line where the party was going on and hear everyone cheering for the finishers. There I was instructed to turn around and go back. Talk about the ultimate in rejection. An Aussie, next to me, said so too, "Oh Mate, this breaks my heart." We continued back to where we started. The night just got longer and longer and the pain was so intense at this point I just want to scream. I arrived at one aide station where I had a hard time standing, unless I was leaning against the table. A Chinese doctor pulled out warm saline fluid for me to drink.
As I turned at the loop with eight miles to go I had to keep telling myself to keep going. When I got closer to the finish, the last mile weaved through the older section of town. Thousands were out watching and it seemed like China town on steroids. A young college student named King who studied English and was a race official on a motor scooter took it upon himself to get me through the last five miles. He rode slowly next to me handing me Gatorade to drink and pouring water over my head. I felt like I was in a frying pan. I guess because of all the buildings, the humidity gets trapped so it also felt like the Amazon rain forest. King stayed with me and kept up his words of encouragement, "We can do this Jeff, keep going." I know I had to be polite but I was thinking, well, of course, you're on the stupid motor scooter and I can't even feel my feet or legs anymore. Even the stoic police were now verbalizing comments. I think all the observers on the streets, liked watching the winners going through but they also liked watching the ones that might not make it, sort of like a crash in Nascar auto racing. They were waiting for someone to crash and burn. Of course, the children buoyed my spirits running along with me. Well actually, walking fast at this point next to me. I can't even count how many times I was saying thank you, thank you.
The ending felt surreal, King told me between the two buildings was the bridge and the finish line. At 11:35 pm and 25 minutes before the cut off time, I arrived. They held up the ribbon for me at the finish line to go through. I don't have the words to describe how I felt. To go so deep within myself to keep fighting became a new place where I have never gone before. They grabbed my arms and then escorted me to the medical tent where a doctor examined me. He laid me down on a cot and stuck an IV needle in me. After about 30 minutes I could start moving again and it was finally over. Chong had told me at breakfast, "Enjoy the race and enjoy the pain." Now I know what he was talking about.
Looking at the results today, I assumed I was almost dead last, but I was at the top 60 percent of my age group. This made no sense to me. Looking closer, the ones after me did not finish, including 40 percent of the pros. So even though I felt like a turtle, I did make it. That put a grin on my face today.
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